May 20-21
- Fentanyl’s border logic
- (Very) old Benz on the road
- Cat bath hack
- … and much more.
🎲 OUR WEEKLY NEWS QUIZ
What do you remember from the news this week?
1. What major national institution was considered the loser in Thailand’s elections?
2. What has France agreed to do to support Ukraine’s military?
3. Whose speeches were played over a train loudspeaker in Austria that caused outrage?
4. Which popular Canadian singer-songwriter announced he would go back to using his birth name, Abel Makkonen Tesfaye?
[Answers at the bottom of this newsletter]
#️⃣ TRENDING
Images of the huge amount of weapons collected by Serbian authorities have gone viral this week. An estimated total of 13,500 weapons (including rifles, automatic weapons, pistols, boxes of grenades and even anti-tank rocket launchers) were surrendered during a one-month amnesty period after back-to-back mass shootings caused a crackdown on unregistered weapons.
🎭 5 CULTURE THINGS TO KNOW
• Dozens held in Maharashtra after Islamic State film row: Communal clashes in Akola city resulted in one death and eight injuries in the western Indian state of Maharashtra. The violence was sparked by a controversial social media post about the film The Kerala Story, which portrays a fictional narrative of three women from the southern state joining ISIS.
• Oldest Andean cross in South America found in Peru: Archaeologists discovered a 4,000-year-old temple on the central coast of Peru, featuring a frieze that contains what could be the oldest Andean cross in South America. The ceremonial center, shaped like a "U," is located in the left bank of the lower Chancay River valley, within the archaeological site of Miraflores in the coastal province of Huaral, approximately 95 kilometers north of Lima.
• Martha Stewart becomes Sports Illustrated oldest swimsuit cover model: At 81, Martha Stewart has made history as Sports Illustrated's oldest cover model featuring in the magazine’s annual swimsuit edition. This year’s swimsuit issue featured three other cover models, including Megan Fox and Kim Petras, that was a departure to focus on successful women outside the world of fashion and modeling.
• Cannes Film Festival, class of 2023: The Cannes Film Festival has kicked off on the French Riviera, attracting renowned international filmmakers and celebrities. Movie enthusiasts will be eagerly anticipating the presence of stars like Harrison Ford, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge on the red carpet. Among the highly anticipated films are features by Martin Scorsese, Wes Anderson, Ken Loach.
• Maurice Lévy launches a “YouTube for artists”: Publicis chairman and former CEO Maurice Lévy launched “YourArt” this week, a digital platform with the goal of facilitating access to artists and galleries. An avid art collector, the advertising maven has raised 9 million euros to create the “largest gallery in the world” where professional and amateur artists can advertise and sell their work.🇺🇦 The stakes and success of Zelensky’s tour
Volodymyr Zelensky met with four European leaders over the past week, coming back to Kyiv with military aid promises and having laid the groundwork for Ukraine’s NATO membership. Oleksandr Demchenko and Oleksandr Kilinichenko wrote for Ukrainian media Livy Bereg on this bold tour, where Zelensky chose influence over negotiation to prepare his country’s counteroffensive against Russia.
Read the full story: Why Zelensky's Europe Tour Was So Important — Short And Long-Term
💊 How fentanyl rules the U.S. and Mexico border
South of the border, Mexican cartels, funded by fentanyl trafficking, terrorize cities and drive people to flee northward to escape their violence. In the U.S., the devastating opioid crisis goes on, while migrants line up at the border, hoping for a way in. For Luis Rubio, writing for America Economia, the vicious cycle won't end until the Mexican government takes responsibility and works with the U.S. instead of against them.
Read the full story: Migrants, Fentanyl, Cartel Violence: U.S. And Mexico Must Both Rethink The Border
🕺🏻It’s not raining men
An almost century-long tradition is dying out in the Portuguese capital. The Marchas Populares, once a vibrant midsummer tradition where men and women would come to dance and find a match, now lack funding and men willing to dance, write Ana Narciso and Inês Leote in Lisbon-based media Mensagem. But the new generation could keep the tradition going, even if it has to change.
Read the full story: Marchas Populares, A Great Lisbon Tradition Is Missing Men
🐱🛁 BRIGHT IDEA
TikTok user @aliabidi_ shared a hack for cat-owners, designed to make the oft excruciating process of bathing cats easier. In the video, which has garnered more than 2.7 million views on the social media, he shows a cat net with a handle aimed at holding your cat in the bathtub while preventing it from escaping.
🎩 SMILE OF THE WEEK
A vintage 1894 Benz Victoria in Germany has passed an inspection with flying colors, allowing it on the open road. Although the 130-year-old car lacks blinkers and electric headlights, owner Karl-Heinz Rehkopf has been granted permission to take his old-timey whip for a spin. The rest of the time, the country’s oldest roadworthy car resides in a local car museum in Einbeck, central Germany.
⏩ LOOKING AHEAD
• Greece will hold legislative elections Sunday with three main parties running for seats in the 300-member parliament. Current Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, from the conservative New Democracy party, will compete against former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, leading the leftist Syriza, and Nikos Androulakis, head of the Socialists. Polls suggest the election will be the closest in more than a decade, which could lead to the cooperation of two parties in order to win a majority.
• Qatar and Bahrain will resume flights on May 25 in an ongoing process started in April to restore ties. The state agency reported that the resumption is “within the framework of brotherly relations.” In 2017, Bahrain, along with other Middle Eastern countries, severed ties and imposed a blockade on Qatar, banning ships and planes from its waters and airspace.
• Iran expects to receive the first batch of Russian-made SU-35 fighter jets next week, following the agreement signed on March 11 with Russia. The UN resolution prohibiting Iran from purchasing conventional weapons expired in October 2020, leading to increasingly tight cooperation between Tehran and Moscow.
• The second week of the 76th Festival de Cannes will see Michael Douglas being awarded an honorary Palme d’Or for his career. The festival will close on May 27 with the awards ceremony and a screening of Disney Pixar’s Elemental.
News quiz answers:
1. Thailand’s two main opposition defeated the royalist-military parties who had been ruling for nearly a decade by forming a ruling coalition after winning the election.
2. French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview that France was open to training Ukrainian fighter jet pilots.
3. Passengers were shocked to hear Nazi slogans and a recording of a Hitler speech playing over an Austrian train’s loudspeaker system. Two men have had criminal complaints filed against them following the incident.
4. Canadian pop star The Weeknd announced on social media he was changing his stage patronym for his birth name, Abel Tesfaye. The artist said he was “ready to close the Weeknd chapter” and wanted to reinvent himself.
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Photo: CaioWebb
